Tao Essentials

Living Kindness

2012-02-05T23:21:00.000-08:00

“If a person seems wicked,
do not cast him away.
Awaken him with your words,
elevate him with your deeds,
repay his injury with your kindness.
Do not cast him away;
cast away his wickedness.”

~ Lao-Tzu

Manifest Plainness, Embrace Simplicity

2012-02-05T23:06:00.000-08:00

“Manifest plainness,
Embrace simplicity,
Reduce selfishness,
Have few desires.”

~ Lao Tzu

At The Center Of Your Being

2012-02-05T22:54:00.000-08:00

“At the center of your being
you have the answer;
you know who you are
and you know what you want.”

~ Lao Tzu

The Soft and Supple Will Prevail

2012-02-05T22:12:00.000-08:00

“Men are born soft and supple;
dead they are stiff and hard.
Plants are born tender and pliant;
dead, they are brittle and dry.
Thus whoever is stiff and inflexible is a disciple of death.
Whoever is soft and yielding is a disciple of life.
The hard and stiff will be broken. The soft and supple will prevail.”

~ Lao Tzu

She Does Not Show Herself

2012-02-05T21:42:00.000-08:00

“She does not show herself,
and therefore is apparent.
She does not affirm herself,
and therefore is acknowledged.
She does not boast
and therefore has merit.
She does not strive
and therefore is successful.
It is exactly because she does not contend,
that nobody can contend with her.”

~ Lao Tzu

Stop Thinking

2012-02-05T21:25:00.000-08:00

“Stop thinking, and end your problems.
What difference between yes and no?
What difference between success and failure?
Must you value what others value,
avoid what others avoid?
How ridiculous!

Other people are excited,
as though they were at a parade.
I alone don't care,
I alone am expressionless,
like an infant before it can smile.

Other people have what they need;
I alone possess nothing.
I alone drift about,
like someone without a home.
I am like an idiot, my mind is so empty.

Other people are bright;
I alone am dark.
Other people are sharp;
I alone am dull.
Other people have purpose;
I alone don't know.
I drift like a wave on the ocean,
I blow as aimless as the wind.

I am different from ordinary people.
I drink from the Great Mother's breasts.”

~ Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

Become A Leader Among Men

2012-02-05T21:08:00.000-08:00

“I have three precious things which I hold fast and prize:
The first is gentleness; the second is frugality;
the third is humility, which keeps me from putting myself before others.

Be gentle and you can be bold;
be frugal and you can be liberal;
avoid putting yourself before others
and you can become a leader among men.”

~ Lao Tzu

Emptiness Of The Center

2012-02-05T20:51:00.000-08:00

“We join spokes together in a wheel,
but it is the emptiness of the center hole
that makes the wagon move.

We shape clay into a pot,
but it is the emptiness inside
that holds whatever we want.

We hammer wood for a house,
but it is the inner space
that makes it livable.

We work with being,
but non-being is what we use.”

~ Lao Tzu

Without The Laugh There Is No Tao

2012-02-05T19:32:00.000-08:00

“When the highest type of men hear Tao,
They diligently practice it.
When the average type of men hear Tao,
They half believe in it.
When the lowest type of men hear Tao,
They laugh heartily at it.
Without the laugh, there is no Tao.”

~ Lao Tzu

Superior Integrity

2012-02-05T19:06:00.000-08:00

“The person of superior integrity
does not insist upon his integrity.
For this reason, he has integrity.
The person of inferior integrity
never loses sight of his integrity;
For this reason, he lacks integrity.”

~ Lao Tzu

Do Not Conquer The World With Force

2012-02-05T18:51:00.000-08:00

“Do not conquer the world with force,
for force only causes resistance.
Thorns spring up when an army passes.
Years of misery follow a great victory.
Do only what needs to be done without using violence.”
~ Lao Tzu

The Core And The Surface

2012-02-05T16:39:00.000-08:00

“Existence is beyond the power of words
To define:
Terms may be used
But are none of them absolute.

In the beginning of heaven and earth there were no words,
Words came out of the womb of matter;
And whether a man dispassionately
Sees to the core of life
Or passionately
Sees the surface,
The core and the surface
Are essentially the same,
Words making them seem different
Only to express appearance.

If name be needed, wonder names them both:
From wonder into wonder
Existence opens.”

~Lao Tzu

The Baggage of Old Thought

2012-02-05T14:16:00.000-08:00

“The past has no power to stop you
from being present now.
Only your grievance about
the past can do that.
What is grievance?
The baggage of old
thought and emotion.”

~Lao Tzu

The Master is Her Own Physician

2012-02-05T13:16:00.000-08:00

“The Master is her own physician.
She has healed herself of all knowing.
Thus she is truly whole.”

~Lao Tzu

Mastery Through Adaptation

2012-02-05T12:51:00.000-08:00

“Softness triumphs over hardness,
feebleness over strength.
What is malleable is always superior
to that which is immovable.
This is the principle of controlling things
by going along with them,
of mastery through adaptation.”

~ Lao-Tzu

The Sage Produces Without Possessing

2012-02-05T12:17:00.000-08:00

“The sage produces without possessing,
acts without expectations,
and accomplishes without abiding in her accomplishments.

It is precisely because she does not abide in them that they never leave her.”

~ Lao Tzu

Perfect Sincerity Offers No Guarantee

2012-02-05T09:03:00.000-08:00

"The greatest politeness
Is free from all formality.
Perfect conduct is free of concern.
Perfect wisdom is unplanned.
Perfect love is without demonstrations.
Perfect sincerity offers no guarantee."

~Chuang Tzu

Where Can I Find A Man Who Has Forgotten Words?

2012-02-05T08:57:00.000-08:00

"The purpose of a fishtrap
Is to catch fish,
And when the fish are caught
The trap is forgotten.

The purpose of words
is to convey ideas.
When the ideas are grasped
The words are forgotten.

Where can I find a man
Who has forgotten words?
He is the one I would like to talk to."

~Chuang Tzu

Countless Words

2012-02-05T08:41:00.000-08:00

“Countless words
count less
than the silent balance
between yin and yang”

~ Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

Wei Wu Wei: Which Is Tao

2012-02-05T08:11:00.000-08:00

The Doctrine is the doctrine of non-doctrine,
The Practice is the practice of non-practice,
The Method is meditation by non-meditation,
And Cultivation which is cultivation by non-cultivation.

This is the Mind of non-mind, which is wu hsin,
The Thought of non-thought, which is wu nien,
The Action of non-action, which is wu wei,
The Presence of the absence of volition,
Which is Tao.

~Wei Wu Wei, All Else Is Bondage

Wei Wu Wei: Happiness

2012-02-05T08:02:00.000-08:00

“Why are you unhappy?
Because 99.9 percent
Of everything you think,
And of everything you do,
Is for yourself —
And there isn't one.”

~Wei Wu Wei, Ask The Awakened

The Sage Has Nothing To Lose

2012-02-04T21:09:00.000-08:00

"The sage is occupied with the unspoken
and acts without effort.
Teaching without verbosity,
producing without possessing,
creating without regard to result,
claiming nothing,
the sage has nothing to lose."

~Lao Tzu

The Whole Sage

2012-02-04T20:51:00.000-08:00

“The flexible are preserved unbroken.
The bent become straight.
The empty are filled.
The exhausted become renewed.
The poor are enriched.
The rich are confounded.

Therefore the sage embraces the one.

Because he doesn't display himself,
people can see his light.

Because he has nothing to prove,
people can trust his words.

Because he doesn't know who he is,
people recognize themselves in him.

Because he has no goal in mind,
everything he does succeeds.

The old saying that the flexible are preserved unbroken is surely right!

If you have truely attained wholeness, everything will flock to you.”

~Lao Tzu

Chuang Tzu: Drawing the Perfect Circle

2012-02-04T20:19:00.000-08:00

"Chu’i the draftsman
could draw more perfect circles
freehand than with a compass.

His fingers brought forth
spontaneous forms from nowhere.
His mind was meanwhile free and
without concern with what he was doing.

No application was needed
his mind was perfectly simple
and knew no obstacle.

So, when the shoe fits,
the foot is forgotten.
When the belt fits,
the belly is forgotten.
And when the heart is right,
for and against are forgotten.

No drives, no compulsions,
no needs, no attractions;
when your affairs are under control
you are a free man.

Easy is right.
Begin right and you are easy -
continue easy and you are right.
The right way to go easy
is to forget
the right way
and forget that
the going is easy.

~Chuang Tzu

Chuang Tzu: Sincerity of the Tao

2012-02-04T19:47:00.000-08:00

"The unconscious
and entire sincerity of Tao
are disturbed by any effort
at self-conscious demonstration.
All such demonstrations are lies.
When one displays himself
in this amibiguous way
the world storms in
and imprisons him.
He is no longer protected
by the sincerity of Tao."

~Chuang Tzu